Safford Notch to West Carry Pond

Day Thirty-Seven
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Safford Notch to West Carry Pond
12.6 Miles

First thing this morning we face Little Bigelow Mountain.  Took us 2 hours to get to the top level for a one mile trek across the almost flat top of the mountain then back down.

Before we got to flagstaff Road we began to get word from south-bounders that there was trail magic at the road.  Yee haw!  Made us want to hike faster to get there, we sure were hoping it would be there for us.  We came out on the road in search of food!  A lady named Pineapple had tables set up, hand washing facilities, and ice chest with cold drinks.  She had been serving breakfast but was now serving lunch—sloppy joes, chips, sodas and poke cake with whipped topping.  We visited with her for about an hour while we enjoyed the delicious meal, found out she was a Christian and had some needs that we prayed with her about.

It was a very nice trail between this road and West Carry Pond Lean-to.  We made good time but would have done better if it were not so hot—it was 90 degrees today.  We met a lady who told us she had seen a moose right before the lean-to and, sure enough, he was still there when we got there.  He was a little one.

At the lean-to we got water out of the pond, which we treated with chemicals.  

YouTube of Moose on the Trail

Stratton to Safford Notch Campsite (Bigelow Range)

Day Thirty-six
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Stratton to Safford Notch Campsite
10.4 miles

Bigelow Mountain west peak at 4150 ft. is the last 4000 footer before Katahdin.  The trail is reportedly much easier north of here - ha ha!

We left Stratton and got on the trail at 6:50 after a harrowing shuttle ride with a guy who had been up all night drinking and smoking.  They supposedly had arranged for the owner's son to be at the motel early to shuttle but he had not arrived by the time we were scheduled to leave, so we took our lives in our hands and climbed in the car.  Thankfully, the trailhead was not too far down the road.

By 11:00 we were catching a beautiful view where we stopped eat lunch, then proceeded on the South Horn by 12:30.  By 2:30 we were on Bigelow West Peak then Avery Peak.  Needless to say, the views were beyond description on the peaks. The pictures cannot capture the beauty.

We met lots of southbounders headed across the Bigelow's in the late afternoon.

By 5:45 we reached the .3 trail into the Safford Notch Campsite.  The trail into the site was a little spooky with big boulders higher than our head all around.  Looked the scene of some prehistoric movie.  The campsite looked deserted, but soon we heard voices and two boys came from the opposite direction looking for the water hole, which was below were we had pitched out tent on a platform.

It was a very warm day in the 80's today.  We kept our headgear wet and our headnets on to thwart the dad-burn mosquitos all day.

YouTube of Bigelow Range